BROOKLYN, N.Y.— The LIU Brooklyn volleyball team went the distance Saturday afternoon, besting Sacred Heart 3-2 (21-25, 25-19, 26-28, 25-16, 15-9) to remain unbeaten in Northeast Conference play. The Blackbirds surged from behind in the final two sets to improve to 9-0 in conference play and 12-6 overall on the season.
LIU had three players with double-digit kills in the win with senior Viktoria Fink leading the way with 16 kills and junior Filippa Hansson and sophomore Jovana Stekovic recording 10 each. Fink finished the match with 12 digs for her second straight double-double and sophomore Piper Matsumoto tallied her third double-double of the season with 31 assists and 12 digs.
Defensively, the Blackbirds out blocked SHU 16-9 on the night with Hansson leading the charge with a season-high eight total blocks. Junior Natalia Rivera led four Blackbirds with double-digit digs with a game-high 28 digs.
Back-and-forth action ensued from first serve with both teams trading points early, but it was SHU who would get the first point separation at 14-11. A 5-1 run by the Blackbirds followed on several kills and a big block assist from Stekovic and Myrthe Maring to regain the lead at 16-15. After a quick Pioneer surge to regain a one point edge, LIU went on a three point swing off of several SHU errors for the 20-18 favor. The visitors used a timeout to collect themselves before turning in a 7-1 ending run for the 25-21 set win.
The second set followed the first with each team trading points before the Pioneers found a five-point cushion at 15-10. The Blackbirds used an 7-3 run of their own to get within one point at 18-17. What followed was an 8-1 closing stretch by LIU paced by a pair of service aces from Matsumoto and capped by a kill from Hansson for the 25-19 set win to tie things up.
Momentum stayed in the Blackbirds favor as the third set opened with a 8-2 start led by four kills from Fink. The lead would stay on LIU's side as the team built up to a six-point cushion at 15-9. But it was a six-point stretch from SHU that tied the set at 15-15. Each team continued to take a short-lived shot at the lead as the set wore on before the Blackbirds used a 4-1 stretch to go up 24-21. The Pioneers continued to battle back as LIU had chances to seal the set but a closing three-point swing gave SHU the 28-26 set win.
LIU brushed off the finish to the third set with a scorching 11-2 stretch to open the fourth set as a block assist from juniors Julia Azevedo and Katharina Krepper forced the Pioneers second and final time out. The Blackbirds continued to keep distance over the opposition as the set wore on before ending the set on a 4-1 run to force the fifth and deciding set.
The Blackbirds continued to find continuity on offense to start the fifth set with five kills across the board and a big service ace from Fink for the 8-3 start. SHU would find a little life with a four-point run to get within one point at 8-7. LIU closed out the match with a 7-2 stretch as Fink sealed the match win with one last kill for the 15-9 set win.
UP NEXT
The Blackbirds conclude their home regular season slate next weekend with a pair of matches before hitting the road for the final two weeks of the regular season. LIU will hold Senior Day prior to the 6:00 p.m. start against the Red Flash on Friday, October 26 and end the weekend with a 4:00 p.m. match on Saturday against Robert Morris.